Tempest: UK’s sixth generation fighter to enter design phase imminently

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  December 4, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 03, 2019

  ARMY Oakland Consulting Group Inc., Lanham, Maryland, was awarded a $16,617,465 modification (BA02 31) to contract W91QUZ-11-D-0018 to develop and deliver critical auditability and compliance requirements for the Logistics Modernization Program. Work will be performed at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $7,898,333 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. The Dutra Group, San Rafael, California, was awarded a $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 2, 2021. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-20-D-0001). NAVY Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded an $11,544,415 cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort delivery order to previously awarded contract N00024-19-D-4306 to accomplish 12 months of execution planning for the repair and alteration requirements for USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78 – aircraft carrier/nuclear propulsion) planned incremental availability. The contracted requirements include the advance planning, design, documentation, engineering, procurement, ship checks, fabrication and preliminary shipyard or support facility work. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2020. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding for $1,000,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, U.S. Navy, Newport News, Virginia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Kampi Components, Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania (SPE7MX-20-D-0011, $10,911,917); and Optex Systems, Richardson, Texas (SPE7MX-20-D-0012, $11,024,488), have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE7MX-19-R-0102 for armored V periscopes. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. They are three-year base contracts with two one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Pennsylvania and Texas, with a Dec. 3, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio. Labatt Food Service, San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $9,028,137 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full line, food distribution for customers in Texas and New Mexico. This contract was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 172-day contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Texas and New Mexico, with a May 16, 2020, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3253). (Awarded Nov. 27, 2019) Heart and Core LLC, Minnetonka, Minnesota, has been awarded a maximum $7,920,000 modification (P00014) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-1018) with four one-year option periods for moisture wicking t-shirts. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are California and Minnesota, with a Dec. 15, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Chenega Infinity LLC,* Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded an $8,620,544 modification (P00005) to previously awarded contract HR0011-18-C-0151 for physical security support services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $16,869,621 from $8,249,076. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an expected completion date of December 2020. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $6,735,856 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2030883/source/GovDelivery/

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  April 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Airbus reports $515M in first-quarter losses

  By: Angela Charlton, The Associated Press PARIS — Airbus says the aviation industry's unprecedented troubles are just beginning. The European manufacturing giant reported €481 million (U.S. $515 million) in losses in the first quarter, put thousands of workers on furlough and sought billions in loans to survive the coronavirus crisis. And its CEO said Wednesday it's still at an “early stage.” Even after virus-related travel restrictions eventually ease, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury acknowledged it will take a long time to persuade customers to get back on planes. Just how long, he can't predict. “We are in the gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known,” Faury said. “Now we need to work as an industry to restore passenger confidence in air travel as we learn to coexist with this pandemic.” Images shared online of packed planes and maskless, elbow-to-elbow passengers on U.S. flights — despite virus protection guidelines - have worried travelers and airline unions alike. International travel restrictions, meanwhile, have grounded thousands of planes worldwide. Faury insisted that airplanes are “probably the best place to be” during a virus outbreak because of air filtration systems put in place after previous virus outbreaks and other threats, but said Airbus will work with aviation authorities to try to calm the public. Shares in Airbus and Boeing have dropped some 60 percent this year as customer airlines collapse or seek billions of dollars in government bailouts. Airbus was unable to deliver 60 planned planes in the quarter because of virus-related problems, and said the second quarter looks similarly rough. Customers are asking for delays, which Faury called “the biggest issue we are managing at the moment.” Airbus executives expressed hope Wednesday that deliveries could start picking up in the second half of the year. But they refused to issue long-term guidance given that the virus is still spreading, and that governments are reluctant to relax international travel restrictions. U.S. rival Boeing is facing similar woes. Boeing's CEO said Monday that it will take years for the aircraft-building business to return to levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic. Airbus has slashed production by a third since the virus hit, and Faury said Airbus will study “resizing” the company after the crisis ebbs — a worrying prospect on a continent where Airbus has factories in four countries and is one of the region's industrial leaders. Already 3,000 Airbus workers in France are on temporary unemployment and the number is expected to grow. In addition, 3,200 workers in the U.K. are on furlough and negotiations are under way to put thousands of German workers on short work plans. A recent letter by Faury warning workers that the company is “bleeding cash” was a shock to many. But Frederic Romain of French union CFTC said “the situation requires transparency. It allows workers to open their eyes” to what's ahead. “Fears? We have a lot of them. For the moment we don't have a clear vision of what awaits us," Romain said. Airbus reported a 15 percent drop in revenues to €10.6 billion in the first quarter. Looking longer term, Faury insisted that Airbus remains committed to reducing airplane emissions but said it's “less urgent” than before the coronavirus crisis because the company has more pressing problems to solve. “For practical cash reasons," Airbus has stopped or suspended some projects aimed at “decarbonizing” its production, he said. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/04/29/airbus-reports-515m-in-first-quarter-losses/

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  August 6, 2019 | International, Naval

  USS New York, USS Oak Hill conduct live-fire missile training

  By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lyle Wilkie, USS New York LPD 21 Public Affairs ATLANTIC OCEAN -- The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) completed a live-fire exercise in which the ship fired missiles at a drone using the ship's self-defense Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) system Saturday, Aug. 3 (NNS) -- The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) completed a live-fire exercise in which the ship fired missiles at a drone using the ship's self-defense Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) system Saturday, Aug. 3. The live-fire exercise is in preparation for the New York's upcoming deployment with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group. The Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), also part of the amphibious ready group, conducted a live-fire exercise Saturday as well. “We are doing this exercise to verify full operation of our kill chain for our RAM system,” said USS New York Fire Controlman Chief Christopher Campbell. “The weekly overall combat system operability tests and RAM's daily system tests assess every part of the kill chain except the actual launch of the missile. This is our opportunity to ensure that the missile will launch prior to deployment.” In order to prepare for an exercise of this magnitude it takes a great deal of preparation. “Preparation for this exercise started a month or longer before we even loaded the missiles,” said Fire Controlman 2nd Class Austin Jones. “We had to ensure each missile cell received the proper signals to fire missiles and make sure the launcher was in overall good condition before receiving and firing missiles. All the fire controlmen have accomplished more than 150 man hours of maintenance in preparation for this shoot. The exercise was a way to show how effective training in the combat systems department has been and how prepared the New York is to use the RAM system on board.” The fire controlman aboard was not the only one involved in this exercise. “All combat watch standers, bridge watch teams and many other people were involved in this exercise,” said Jones. “Each person has a specific role from safeties to launching the missile to coordinating procedures in case of a dud, or misfire.” This exercise is the last event for the Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise where the New York, alongside the Oak Hill and flagship Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), have been tested in many avenues of war fighting. “This is a culminating event where watch standers and systems can be rigorously tested to prove their capability and effectiveness while also utilizing state of the art data extraction systems to continue our pursuit for perfection,” said Lt. j.g. Joshua Sexton, Fire Control Officer aboard New York. “This is proof of not only capability and effectiveness but also confidence in both the system and, most importantly, the watch standers' ability to stay in the fight.” Warships assigned to the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, including New York, are participating in the SWATT, in the Atlantic Ocean, to maintain readiness, proficiency, and lethality. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=110462